Clinton accuses Trump of 'bigotry' for silence on Obama's birthplace

WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump on Thursday for again declining to answer a question about where President Barack Obama was born, asking: "When will he stop this ugliness, this bigotry?"

"He's tried to reset himself and his campaign many times. This is the best he can do. This is who he is so we need to decide who we are," Clinton said at The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute awards gala in Washington, D.C.

Trump late Wednesday in an interview with the Washington Post declined to say if he believes Obama was born in Hawaii. "I'll answer that question at the right time," Trump said. "I just don't want to answer it yet." The interview was published Thursday.

Trump's campaign countered late Thursday that the candidate does believe Obama was born in the U.S., despite Trump's continued refusal to explicitly say so himself when questioned over the last year.

"Having successfully obtained President Obama's birth certificate when others could not, Mr. Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States," Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller said in a statement Thursday night.

Clinton's campaign was not convinced. Campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said "Trump needs to say it himself."

Clinton seized on Trump's non-answer during a speech at the awards gala shortly before the Trump campaign spokesman's statement.

"If we just sigh and shake our heads and accept this, then what does that tell our kids about who we are?" Clinton said. "We need to stand up and repudiate divisive rhetoric. We need to stop him conclusively in November in an election that sends a message that even he can hear."

Trump has on several occasions over the last year declined to comment on his prior questions about Obama's birthplace.

NEW YORK, NY- Democratic Nominee for President of the United States former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to journalists after meeting national security experts for a National Security Working Session at the New York Historical Society Library in Manhattan, New York on Friday September 9, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 09: Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) greets actress Laverne Cox during he LGBT for Hillary Gala at Cipriani Club on September 9, 2016 in New York City. Hillary Clinton is attending fundraisers and in New York City. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

WHITE PLAINS, NY - Democratic Nominee for President of the United States former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to the Press Corp on the airport tarmac in front of her campaign plane before flying off on a day of campaigning in White Plains, New York on Thursday September 8, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 05: Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally at Luke Easter Park on September 5, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. Clinton is on a Labor Day campaign swing to Ohio and Iowa on a new campaign plane large enough to accommodate her traveling press corp. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, OH - SEPTEMBER 05: Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets a supporter during a campaign rally at Luke Easter Park on September 5, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. Clinton is kicking off a Labor Day campaign swing to Ohio and Iowa on a new campaign plane large enough to accommodate her traveling press corp. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, speaks at a campaign event during The American Legion National Convention at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. Clinton told a veterans group that U.S. leadership is vital to the world and, drawing a contrast with Republican Donald Trump, said that means the White House is no place for a leader who insults allies or threatens to shrink from that role. Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images

UNITED STATES - AUGUST 30: Democratic nominee for Vice President Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., holds a campaign rally at the Boys & Girls Club in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE - 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. EDT and features a diverse lineup of guests that includes celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Monday, August 22 included Presidential Nominee and former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and John Krasinski ('The Hollars'). (Photo by Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Images)
HILLARY CLINTON, JIMMY KIMMEL

MANHATTAN, NY - AUGUST 18: U.S. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton meets with law enforcement experts at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, NY, on August 18, 2016. (Photo by Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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CLEVELAND, OH-August 17: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tours John Marshall High School
August 17, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. Clinton was scheduled to speak at a rally at the school. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

DETROIT, MI - Democratic Nominee for President of the United States former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tours Futuramic Tool & Engineering, before delivering an economic speech and job creation, in Detroit, Michigan on Thursday August 11, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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CLEVELAND, OH - On the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio, Democratic Nominee for President of the United States former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along with running mate Senator Tim Kaine, and Anne Holton, aboard the campaign bus in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday July 31, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH, PA - On the second day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio, Democratic Nominee for President of the United States former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton along with running mate Senator Tim Kaine, Anne Holton, and President Bill Clinton, speak to and meet Pennsylvania voters during a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 30, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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But in the last week Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway and adviser Rudy Giuliani said that Trump now believes Obama was born in the U.S. Trump did not dispute Conway's statement during his interview with the Washington Post.

The gala speech marked Clinton's second event back on the trail after a bout with pneumonia that sidelined her for three days.

Obama spoke before Clinton's speech Thursday. He criticized Trump for his proposed "wall" on the U.S.-Mexico border, and said immigration reform can't be tackled by one leader.

"It's gonna take all of us. This is not something that a president can do alone. It's not something the next president will be able to do alone either, no matter how tough she is," Obama said, making an obvious reference to his preferred successor.